09-20-2014, 02:17 AM
Yes, you use the power you have, and DON'T use the power you don't have, to keep your food preserved, the lights on, the store open, the gas pumps pumping etc., etc., etc., I know I am a "big-picture" thinker, and not everyone is, but you seem to think "micro", as if your house, and a few other houses are all the consumers that exists - no factories, plants, mills, foundries, retail operations, warehouses etc.
I am not against small-scale generation/distribution. In fact a guy in the warehouse next to mine works with a company that builds and installs fuel cells that use hydrogen, as I recall. The same technology that power space missions. In other places, such as Alaska, and remote areas in Canada, they use old turbine engines to generate juice and pump natural gas. It can be done, but you are really substituting many duplicated small grids for one larger grid that is capable of load balancing etc., to cover for a generator that goes bad, a boiler that blows a tube, turbine that loses a blade etc.
When they build New Pahoa, why don't you propose and lead the effort to create your own micro-grid powering the new community. A couple of GE LM1500s (Rebuilt industrial versions of the J79 turbojets from F4 Phantoms and F104s) should get you started. They can be configured to run either on liquid or gaseous fuels by changing fuel nozzles. Perhaps you could bring back some sugar cane production to produce ethanol to run the gas turbines. Contact S & S Turbines out of Canada.
Start with your planning now, and make regular reports on your progress.
Ono - So Fast - So Tasty!
I am not against small-scale generation/distribution. In fact a guy in the warehouse next to mine works with a company that builds and installs fuel cells that use hydrogen, as I recall. The same technology that power space missions. In other places, such as Alaska, and remote areas in Canada, they use old turbine engines to generate juice and pump natural gas. It can be done, but you are really substituting many duplicated small grids for one larger grid that is capable of load balancing etc., to cover for a generator that goes bad, a boiler that blows a tube, turbine that loses a blade etc.
When they build New Pahoa, why don't you propose and lead the effort to create your own micro-grid powering the new community. A couple of GE LM1500s (Rebuilt industrial versions of the J79 turbojets from F4 Phantoms and F104s) should get you started. They can be configured to run either on liquid or gaseous fuels by changing fuel nozzles. Perhaps you could bring back some sugar cane production to produce ethanol to run the gas turbines. Contact S & S Turbines out of Canada.
Start with your planning now, and make regular reports on your progress.
quote:
Originally posted by snorkle
OnoOno,
I've live both on and off the grid and would disagree. You use the power that you have, period.
My old pal Clem used to say; "Dang orville, We've been haulin our hay with this mule like it's been done for years. She's a great Mule; Use her everyday like it's been done fer years. Don't need them new fangled automobile inventions to haul our crop."
OnoOno also asks;
"What is it that, in your opinion, makes the grid obsolete?"
snorkle responds with a smirk;
It's ugly, It loses 30% of the power it delivers (but hey, the customers pay for it), It's vulnerable to damage by storms(ya think?), wind, car wrecks. It's vulnerable to terrorism (yes indeed; think about it) It needs to be constantly replaced and maintained, a failure at one point can send the whole system down. And, oh yeah......It's 200 year old technology!
Ono - So Fast - So Tasty!
Ono - So Fast - So Tasty!